If Nintendo Wii is on, few are sitting

Saturday

The interactive video game remains a favorite, according to retailers, and it's not just teenagers who are hooked.

Nintendo Wii is popular with all ages because it gets players up and moving.

The console, formerly known as the Revolution, features motion sensitive controllers that enable players to swing a tennis racket, throw punches or drive a car interactively instead of pushing buttons. And at $250, it’s also less expensive than Playstation 3, which costs $499.

Vinny Franchi of Lebanon said he and his wife, Kate, got a system in their stockings for Christmas.

“I think I’m having more fun than my kids,” Franchi said. “I like Madden Football. You have to throw the ball, flick your wrist and throw a tight spiral. The kids like bowling. You’re up. You’re moving. In boxing you have to stand up and throw punches. You’re constantly moving in three-minute rounds. (Wii) is definitely not a sit-on-the-couch game system.”

At Greentree Manor Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Waterford, therapists are encouraging patients to use the console in order to improve balance, coordination and overall endurance.

Valerie Gilson, occupational therapy assistant, said a number of patients are using the games, and they are responding favorably.

“We work on standing tolerance, weak extremities and even with visually impaired patients using the games,” Gilson said. “It’s very interactive, and it
commands their attention.”

Gilson said the staff typically uses golf, tennis and bowling with the patients.
“We stay away from boxing,” she said. “But they have fun. It’s a nice social activity as well, and the patients get into a competitive mindset. We have a lot of laughs.”
Even patients who dislike video games on principle enjoy them, Gilson said, including a former golfer recovering from a knee replacement whose curiosity got the better of her until she tried a few swings.

So far, no one has suffered any injuries or falls playing the games either, Gilson said.
Despite national reports of Wii-related injuries, The William W. Backus Hospital in Norwich also had no reports on file in either its emergency department or orthopedics department, Spokesman Shawn Mawhiney said.

And even after Christmas, stores across the region say they have trouble keeping Wii on their shelves.

“It’s a game for all ages. Anyone can play,” said Katie Lachappelle, sales associate at Wal-Mart in Norwich. “Everyone wants one. Parents are excited when they’re buying them for their kids.”

Wal-Mart has no Wiis in stock right now, and Lachappelle said they’ve never been able to keep them in when they do get them.

“We get a shipment of 12 and they’re gone in a couple hours,” she said.
The store typically gets one shipment each week, and 25 calls every day from customers looking for the game. When it appears in the store circular, Lachappelle said, the lines start forming before the store opens.

At F.Y.E. in Norwich, the experience is similar. With only three coming in on random shipments, employees barely get the consoles on the shelves before they’re sold, Assistant Store Manager Charles Shelby said.

“It’s crazy. They’re just hard to get hold of,” Shelby said.

Reach Liz Mugavero at 425-4218 or lmugavero@norwichbulletin.com

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